Fumikomi Posture

by Rachel
(Irvine, California)

Hi!

I have a problem with my fumikomi for a while now, and I can't find a solution to fix it. I noticed that when I fumikomi, my right foot goes first and then my body snap forward. It is not a very smooth action, and it often causes my head to bobble up and down.

When I fumikomi without my shinai, I can feel my whole body and hip moving forward, but whenever the shinai is involved, it feels like my body is moving too much.

What exercises/ practice can I do?

What should I do to ensure that my hip/body is moving with my legs?

Can you break down the fumikomi step by step, my senpai only point out my issues but they never tell me how I can fix it?

Thank you so much for this!

Answer: Thank you for your question. First off, I will give you some links to the pages that are dedicated to fumikomi. This is a very common issue so I made videos just for fumikomi.

Now remember, fumikomi is not very important. It is an important element of integration of your strike. The most important thing is you DELIVER your body forward. A successful strike is an integration of kiai, proper cut and “delivering” your body.

You cannot do a proper “fumikomi” when you have a shinai because you are thinking to HIT a target. Think to

Lift your hands up and Deliver your body forward

And when your hands are down, your aimed target will be there.

Don’t think to HIT a target. When you do, your sword will control you.

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